1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a moving plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Published Patent Appl. No. 2001/0039144 discloses a connector with a housing and an engaging recess that extends into the front end of the housing for receiving a mating connector. Male terminal fittings are accommodated in the housing, and tabs at the front ends of the male terminal fittings project forward in the engaging recess. The connector further includes a moving plate that has positioning holes through which the tabs can pass. The moving plate is movable in the engaging recess between an initial position, where the positioning holes engage the front ends of the tabs, and a connection position, where the positioning holes engage the base ends of the tabs.
The moving plate is at the initial position before the mating connector is connected, and hence the moving plate positions the front ends of the tabs. Thus, the tabs and female terminal fittings in the mating connector are aligned. The moving plate is pushed by the mating connector from the initial position to the connection position as the mating connector is connected.
The connectors may be disconnected and reconnected for maintenance or the like. In such a case, the moving plate needs to be pulled back from the connection position to the initial position to position the tabs before the reconnection of the mating connector. However, the moving plate at the connection position is at the back side of the engaging recess. Thus, a cumbersome operation is necessary to pull the moving plate back to the initial position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,041 discloses a returning spring between the housing and the moving plate. The returning spring accumulates a biasing force as the mating connector is connected. Thus, the biasing force in the returning spring automatically moves the moving plate from the connection position to the initial position as the mating connector is separated.
The returning spring is held constantly in a deformed state while the mating connector is connected with the connector. Such a connected state with the mating connector normally continues for a long time. Thus, the elasticity of the returning spring may be reduced and the returning spring may be set permanently in fatigue with an insufficient biasing force. As a result, the moving plate will not be returned reliably to the initial position.
Moreover, the lock arm of the above-described connector is at the widthwise center and compression coil springs are provided at the opposite lateral sides of the lock arm and above the lock arm. Thus, the connector is large with respect to widthwise and vertical directions.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problems and an object thereof is to improve the operability of the connector.
The invention is directed to a connector with a housing that has a front end and an engaging recess that extends into the front end. The engaging recess is configured to receive a mating connector from the front. Terminal fittings and a biasing member are disposed in the housing. The biasing member has a first end directly or indirectly engageable with the mating connector. The mating connector pushes the first end of the biasing member and resiliently deforms the biasing member in the process of connecting the mating connector. The connector further has a slider that moves with the first end of the biasing member between a returning position and a releasing position behind the returning position. A holding means holds the slider at the returning position and cancels the held state of the slider. Accordingly, the biasing member is prevented from being permanently set in fatigue so that overall operability of the connector is improved. The terminal fittings preferably are male terminal fittings, and tabs at the front ends of the male terminal fittings project forward in the engaging recess.
The connector may further comprise a moving plate that is movable between an initial position and a connection position. The moving plate has positioning holes that engage the front ends of the tabs to position the tabs in the engaging recess when the moving plate is in the initial position. The positioning holes are substantially at the base ends of the tabs when the moving plate is in the connection position. The moving plate is movable together with first end of the biasing member, and the biasing member biases the moving plate toward the initial position. The mating connector pushes the moving plate from the initial position to the connection position and resiliently deforms the returning spring in the process of connecting the mating connector.
The connector further comprises a slider movable with the second end of the biasing member between a returning position and a releasing position behind the returning position. A holding means is provided for holding the slider at the returning position and canceling the held state of the slider.
The slider exerts a forward pushing force on the second end of the biasing member when the slider is held at the returning position before the mating connector is connected. Thus, the moving plate is moved to the initial position by the resilient restoring force of the biasing member. The slider is kept at the returning position by the holding means in this process. Thus, the mating connector pushes the moving plate and the end of the returning spring back and accumulates a resilient restoring force in the biasing member.
The state of the slider held at the returning position is canceled when the mating connector is connected properly and the moving plate is at the connection position. The resilient force accumulated in the biasing member is released as the slider is moved to the releasing position.
The slider may be moved to the returning position to reconnect the mating connector after being separated. The biasing member then resiliently pushes the moving plate from the connection position to the initial position, and the moving plate positions the tabs.
The force accumulated in the biasing member is released when the mating connector is connected properly and the moving plate is at the connection position. Thus, the biasing member has no permanent set in fatigue.
The holding means preferably is constructed to cancel the held state of the slider as the mating connector is connected properly. Thus, the slider is moved automatically from the returning position to the releasing position, where the biasing force of the biasing member is released. Operability is good because an operation of canceling the holding means need not be performed separately.
The housing preferably comprises a lock arm that is deformable to an unlocking position during connection with the mating connector. The lock arm is resiliently restored to a locking position when the mating connector is connected properly and engages the mating connector to prevent the mating connector from being separated. The slider preferably comprises a movement preventing portion for preventing movement of the slider to the releasing position by engaging the lock arm that has been deformed resiliently to the unlocking position when the slider is at the returning position. The movement preventing portion disengages from the lock arm when the lock arm is returned resiliently to the locking position to permit movement of the slider to the releasing position.
The slider is kept at the returning position if the mating connector is connected insufficiently and the lock arm is at the unlocking position. The slider is moved from the returning position to the releasing position by the resilient restoring force of the biasing member when the lock arm is returned to the locking position to prevent the properly connected mating connector from being separated from the connector. Thus, the locked state of the mating connector by the lock arm can be detected based on whether the slider has been moved to the releasing position.
The slider may further comprise an unlocking piece for engaging the lock arm at the locking position to forcibly deform the lock arm to the unlocking position as the slider is moved from the releasing position toward the returning position.
The slider can be moved toward the returning position while the lock engages the properly connected mating connector. Thus, a biasing force accumulates in the biasing member between the moving plate, which has its movement toward the initial position prevented by the mating connector, and the slider, which is moving toward the returning position. The biasing force accumulated in the biasing member causes the unlocking piece of the slider to deform the lock arm to the unlocking position. Thus, the biasing force of the biasing member also moves the moving plate toward the initial position and pushes the mating connector out of the engaging recess. Movement of the slider from the releasing position toward the returning position cancels the locking by the lock arm. Thus, an operation of canceling locking by the lock arm and an operation of pulling the female connector back by means of the biasing member are performed merely by unlocking the slider. Therefore, operability is good.
The lock arm preferably comprises an accommodation space for accommodating at least part of the biasing member. Thus, the connector can be made smaller with respect to vertical and widthwise directions.
The lock arm preferably is at a substantially widthwise center position and the accommodation space is formed by cutting away a substantially widthwise center portion of the lock arm. The lock arm and the biasing member are placed one over the other along vertical direction. Thus, the connector can be made smaller with respect to vertical direction. It is sufficient to provide only one compression coil spring as the biasing member, and thus the connector has a smaller width as compared to a case where two compression coil springs are provided side by side. Further, since the compression coil spring is in the widthwise center of the connector, a biasing force acting in the separating direction on the female connector is well-balanced and the mating connector is unlikely to be twisted when being forcibly separated.
The lock arm may have arm pieces at opposite lateral sides of the accommodation space and a front-stop couples the front ends of the arm pieces. The front-stop contacts the front end of the biasing member when the mating connector is not connected to prevent the biasing member from coming out of the accommodation space. The lock arm resiliently deforms the front-stop in the process of connecting the mating connector, and the mating connector disengages the front-stop from the front end of the biasing member. The mating connector then substantially contacts the front end of the biasing member. Accordingly, a connection detecting function displayed by the contact of the mating connector with the front end of the biasing member cannot be hindered.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.